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The standout news & pop obsessions gleaned from your search habits

Decade of top searches

Since
2001, Yahoo! has dipped into billions of searches to uncover our audience's
curiosities, interests, and what matters most to them. Unlike editorial
retrospectives or surveys, the rankings come from online users’ own search
behavior. Looking back, these lists truly sketch a society in motion: It's a
unique way to gauge social trends and interests in the year’s top stop stories,
compelling newsmakers, and viral fads.
Take a look back at a dozen years of Top 10s to see how the Web has grown — and
see what
preoccupied readers in 2012.

The No. 1 slot belonged to PlayStation 2, which led to the optimistic prognostication "that gaming culture may be on the verge of eclipsing movies and television in the pop culture lexicon."

The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, pushed the term "World Trade Center" to No. 6. The mastermind, Osama bin Laden, registered at No. 15, followed by Nostradamus, due to a hoax that the 16th-century so-called prophet predicted the events. Searches at the time also underwent an "upswing in patriotism. Searches on anthems, patriotic speeches and songs, and the American flag (26) soared as Americans looked for ways to express their support for their country." (Amy Sancetta/AP Photo) less